Ivorian president announces national mourning for stampede victims

• Ouattara announced a period of national mourning will be held for New Year's Eve stampede victims.

• More than 200 casualties including at least 60 deaths were caused in the stampede in Abidjan.

• The stampede occurred while thousands of people were gathering to watch a fireworks show.

Cote d'Ivoire's President Alassane Ouattara (R, Front) arrives at a hospital in the district of Cocody to visit the people injured in a stampede in Abidjan on Jan. 1, 2013. More than 200 casualties including at least 60 deaths were caused in a stampede on New Year's Eve in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire, public television RTI reported on Tuesday.(Xinhua/Koula)

ABIDJAN Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara announced Tuesday that a period of national mourning will be held for the victims of the New Year's Eve stampede in Abidjan that claimed 60 lives and caused more than 200 others injured.

President Ouattara, who visited the injured in a hospital, called the accident a "national tragedy."

"What has happened is a tragedy that afflicts us," he said at the scene.

More than 200 casualties including at least 60 deaths were caused in the stampede in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire, public television RTI reported on Tuesday, citing a provisional report by local firefighters.

The stampede occurred while thousands of people were gathering in the central administrative district of Plateau to watch a fireworks show.

The city for the second consecutive year launched an operation dubbed "Abidjan, illuminated city" to bring light to the main streets in yearend celebrations.

The centerpiece of the operation is the fireworks show on New Year's Eve.

Witnesses said the stampede occurred after the fireworks ended near the stadium's main entrance. Investigation was under way into the cause of the stampede.

Some witnesses said that after the fireworks, huge crowds were moving in different directions.

ABIDJAN Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 casualties including at least 60 deaths were caused in a stampede on New Year's Eve in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire, public television RTI reported on Tuesday.

The stampede occurred while large crowds of people were gathering in the central administrative district of Plateau to watch a fireworks show. Full story